Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Ignoring a Problem Does Not Solve It.

Imagine I have a small spare room under the home. One takes a few stairs to get there and then one must grasp a heavy door open to see inside. The first thing I notice is the dank smell, tickling nostrils and then the mess becoming clearer as my eyes adjust to the gloom. A light bulb hangs precariously in the middle of the room, from the concrete roof, sending shadows running across the walls when the light is switched on, as the bulb bobs in the draft. The room is filled with papers and rubbish is strewn everywhere. Toys lie askew over the floor  There is hardly space to find a clear path to walk through the mess.  Two small boxes of chocolate milk have fermented and leaked out onto the carpet  A melted boiled sweet has run sticky red delicate fingers into the ripped arm of the sofa. My cat sometimes dashes through to find a mouse, turning in a whirl of excitement, dabbing her paw in the dust, batting cobwebs out the way. I prefer not to look into this messy room.

Now, imagine the room is like the dark spaces of the mind. I know it is there but I ignore it. Yet, there are times when I must go there. I go there when I need to find a file I haven't used for so long, I think it may be lost, like the file with the discrimination complaints, or the one about bullying. Oh, these files never disappear, they are only hidden from view. I can keep the door closed as long as I want to and ignore the messy place, but the files remain. The only way I will lose these files is to throw them away and rewrite them into ways to teach inclusion instead. But, it's easier to ignore the dark places of the mind, isn't it, hoping the files are lost and the room remains closed?